


Shattered Glass, Paper Walls

by Blloom



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Don’t be weird, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, Idk fam, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Not Beta Read, Other, Platonic Relationships, Real Names, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 22:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blloom/pseuds/Blloom
Summary: Dream moved into his apartment in the middle of the term. He was quiet, which couldn’t be said for most of his neighbors in the complex, especially the ones directly above him. Loud arguing voices and slamming doors were a regular occurrence for the residents above him, plaguing him well into sleepless nights sometimes. But that’s what can happen when you live in an old building with thin walls.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Kudos: 9





	Shattered Glass, Paper Walls

**Author's Note:**

> Y’all know the drill. If the cc’s are uncomfortable about this I’ll happily delete it. Loosely based on Alec Benjamin’s song “Must Have Been The Wind” bc I love that man to death and want to see him in concert again, screw C*vid. 
> 
> If you’re experiencing domestic abuse, please please please seek help. You’re not alone. Someone will always be there for you, whether it’s a complete stranger or someone you trust. Just please, you can get through it. 💜

The distant sound of shattering glass woke Dream up from his nap. He blinked at his ceiling slowly, trying to register the fact that he heard a noise in the first place. He sat up from the couch and looked around the room. Maybe Patches had knocked a stray glass off of a counter, or one of the few potted plants he had littered around the small apartment. 

Dream called out to his cat, standing from the couch. Patches came trotting into the living room from his bedroom down the hall. The human reached down and scooped the cat into his arms. “Did you knock something over again, aye girl?” He cooed, rubbing his pet under her chin. Patches purred in his arms, nuzzling against his hand. Dream gently placed her back on the ground and started to walk towards his room to search for anything that could’ve caused that noise earlier. 

Patches weaved between his legs when he stopped in the doorway of his bedroom. Everything was as it was supposed to be, more or less. The small cat jumped on the bed and made herself comfortable against the misshapen covers. Dream hummed to himself and walked the length of the apartment. Nothing seemed broken. He came to standstill back in the living room. He strained his ears, searching in the silence. Nothing came. The silence remained silent. 

Dream rubbed his eyes, sitting back on the couch. He turned to the textbook and laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He placed the computer back on his lap and started working on his assignment, the same one he’d been trying to do earlier before taking a break and falling asleep. 

Half way through the problems on the text page, Dream was startled by a loud thump from upstairs. He craned his neck back and took in the white ceiling. Illegible voices argued back and forth for a few minutes until heavy footsteps trekked across the ceiling and the bang of a slamming door was followed by quiet. The man furrowed his brow when a faint sob breached the quiet. It wasn’t really his business, was it?

Dream moved into his apartment in the middle of the term. He was quiet, which couldn’t be said for most of his neighbors in the complex, especially the ones directly above him. Loud arguing voices and slamming doors were a regular occurrence for the residents above him, plaguing him well into sleepless nights sometimes. But that’s what can happen when you live in an old building with thin walls. 

Dream saved the document on his computer when more sobs sounded from upstairs. He stood and walked over to the front door and slipped on slides before stepping into the hallway. He slowly made his way to the staircase and up to the second story before stopping in front of apartment 206. He hesitated for a second but knocked nonetheless on the door, shoving his fist into the pocket of his sweatshirt before stepping back and waiting. 

After a moment or two the door cracked open. Red rimmed brown eyes curiously peered out of the crack in the door. The person cleared their throat before speaking, “Yes?”

“Sorry to bother you,” Dream sheepishly looked down at his feet. “It’s just.. I live below you and heard a noise and just wanted to check on you.” He glanced up at his neighbor. “A-are you alright?”

The door opened slightly wider and the man standing in front of him faked a smile. “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” He chuckled humorlessly, tilting his head in question. 

“Oh, well, I-I just heard… uh, you know what? Nevermind,” Dream rubbed his neck and took another step back. “Sorry for bothering you, again. Uh, have a good day.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and made his way back to the stairwell down the hall. He could feel the stare of the man follow him as he passed through the doorway. 

Dream returned to his apartment and continued working on his homework, forgetting all about the noises he heard not even an hour ago.

___ 

Dream unlocked his front door and stepped inside. He kicked off his shoes, dropping his backpack in the process, and made his way to the kitchen, bag of take out in his hand. He placed the plastic bag of containers on the kitchen counter before fluttering around the cabinets for dishes and grabbing a drink from the fridge. Patches meowed at him from the archway, padding her way up to him. Dream smiled tiredly at his cat, briefly running a hand across her back.

“Hungry?” Patches mewed in response as he straightened up and went about filling her food bowl and refreshening the water. Once the bowls were placed on the floor and the cat was happily munching on food, did Dream start plating his own food. 

Work made him stay later than normal tonight, as more than one coworker called out, leaving Dream to close the store all by himself, again. He sighed as he dumped containers of chinese food onto his plate. He picked up the full dish and canned drink and walked over to the living room, placing both on the coffee table before sitting and turning the tv on. He mindlessly clicked through the channels while shoveling forks full of rice into his mouth. 

He settled on some crime show rerun, not really following the plot as he kept on eating. Just after taking the final bite of his food did he hear a thump from the ceiling. Dream groaned, glancing over at the clock hung on the wall,  _ 11:52 pm. _ He glanced up, waiting for another noise. Nothing came for several minutes. Dream prayed that tonight the people upstairs will be quiet, seeing as he had a test in the morning.

Dream gathered his dishes and trash, properly disposing of them in the kitchen before heading to his room to retire for the evening. After brushing his teeth and changing into sleep clothes, he laid in bed, eyes trained once again on the ceiling. Was he being too insensitive? He probably should’ve worried more about what takes place upstairs, right? With the constant yelling and banging, it's perfectly normal to be concerned, not annoyed like he was. Dream shook his head and turned onto his side, closing his eyes to try to sleep.

___

Sapnap was over the next time Dream heard his upstairs neighbors fighting. The two friends were sat in his bedroom, working on separate assignments for their classes. Sapnap curiously looked around the room before settling his eyes on Dream. “Is that normal?” He asked.

Dream looked up from his notebook, eraser positioned over an incorrect math equation. “Yeah,” he sighed. Dream erased the mistake and started over. “Happens basically daily at this point.”

Sapnap hummed, shifting on the bed. “Does it ever get bad? You could report it.” 

Dream shrugged in response. “I know. I just don’t want to butt into someone else’s life.” Sapnap frowned at him. A pregnant silence filled the room. Dream blinked up from his homework and looked over at his friend. “What?”

Sapnap gently shook his head, “Nothing.” He then turned back to his laptop and typed away at it. 

“Sapnap,” Dream whined. Sapnap looked over at him and grimaced. “Come on, what?”

“Just,” he trailed off. “‘S not like you.” Sapnap grabbed a pillow and braced his elbows against it. “You usually, I don’t know, man. You just seem weirdly unbothered by it.” 

“It’s not like I know the people upstairs, dude.”

“That’s never stopped you before,” Sapnap pointed out. 

Dream placed his notebook in his textbook before closing it. He turned around from his desk and sighed, “I went up there like, last week, because something shattered, or something. And, I don’t know. The guy just, like, dismissed me when I asked. So, I mean, clearly he didn’t want my help or someone to know about it all.” Dream fiddled with a bracelet he was wearing. “It’s not like I don’t care, because you know I hate seeing people hurt, or knowing someone was hurting. But, you can only do so much for someone. And again, I don’t really know him. Or anyone in this building, really.”

“Have you tried?” Sapnap pointedly looked at him.

“Tried what?”

“Getting to know him? You’ve only lived here for a few months now, it wouldn’t be too weird to start introducing yourself to your neighbors.” Dream shrugged. “I say, we go say hi.”

“What? Dude, no!” Sapnap rolled over and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “Bro, we legit just heard them yelling. It’ll be too weird to go up there now.”

“Yeah,” Sapnap stretched. “But they don’t know that we heard. C’mon.” He walked over and tugged at Dream’s sleeve, urging him into a standing position. “‘M hungry anyways, let’s grab something to eat. I was thinking Chipotle, maybe.”

Dream allowed his younger friend to drag him through the apartment, only stopping to grab their shoes, keys, and wallets. Sapnap kept talking aimlessly as the duo headed to the stairwell. Dream tried to just head down to the lobby of the complex but Sapnap grabbed his arm and pulled him up a floor. They soon came to a stop in front of the apartment door directly above Dream’s. Sapnap raised his fist and knocked.

A young woman opened the door and frowned at the two. “Hello?”

“Hi,” Sapnap beamed. “I’m Nick and that’s Clay. He moved in a while ago and just wanted to properly greet his neighbors. Isn’t that right, Clay?” Sapnap bumped his friend’s shoulder.

“Uh, yeah. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out a hand to shake. The lady just looked at him blankly. 

“I’m Audrey.”

“Awesome!” Sapnap continued, peering into the ajar apartment. “So, do you live alone or have any roomma-”

“Sorry, but I was kinda in the middle of something.” She started to close the door.

“Oh, right, sorry. It was nice to meet you, Audrey.” Dream took hold of Sapnap’s arm and pulled him back. Audrey nodded dismissively and fully closed the door without another word. Dream rolled his eyes and pulled Sapnap behind him.

“Well, isn’t she just peachy,” Sapnap said sarcastically. 

“You’re horrible.” Sapnap just shrugged. The two walked out of the apartment complex and headed down the block towards the bus stop. 

“Shady, man. That’s all I can say.” Dream hummed in agreement. 

___

Dream tossed and turned in bed. Patches lifted her head from where she laid by his knees and seemed to give him an annoyed look. He mumbled an apology to the cat, scratching lightly behind her ear. She stood and stretched before jumping off the bed and leaving the room. Dream sighed and sat up, doing the same. 

It was late again, and his upstairs neighbors, once again, were fighting. He debated on how much of a dick he’d look if he walked upstairs and knocked on their door to ask to keep it down. It definitely would be as bad as it was that his neighbors have no common courtesy for everyone else that shares walls with them. 

A very shrill shout, followed by a crashing thump, made Dream jump in alarm. Without another thought he ran out of his apartment and headed upstairs. When he reached the second floor, a few other people had their doors open and were looking curiously into the hallway. Dream smiled sheepishly as he walked over to 206. An elderly lady huffed in annoyance as she pulled her door shut behind her.

“Every damn night. I ought to call the cops at this point. The landlord has given countless warnings,” She stomped over to the front door.

Dream cleared his throat, “I’m sure that wouldn’t be necessary, ma’am.” 

The woman ignored him and rapped angrily at the door. Not a second later did it open. This time, instead of Audrey, it was the same guy from the first time Dream knocked on the door. He looked wide-eyed at the small group of people in the hallway. He locked eyes with Dream for a brief moment before shifting to the elderly standing in front of him. “Miss Patty? Is everything okay?”

“You know damn well it isn’t, George.” The older lady, Patty, tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “Do you have any idea what time it is right now?” The man of 206, George, opened his mouth to reply, but Patty didn’t give him the chance. “It’s two in the morning. Either keep it down from here on out, or I  _ will _ call the authorities.”

George gulped and nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am. I’m terribly sorry.” Patty nodded resolutely and turned back to her door. George’s gaze flickered around the others in the hall. “So sorry, everyone,” He whispered. The others in the hallway turned back to their doors and went inside.

Dream spared a glance at George as he started to close the door. “Wait,” he said. George stopped and opened the door wider, looking expectantly at Dream. “Um.” Dream scratched his wrist, looking over at the wall next to George. 

George turned his head to look deeper into his apartment for a second before stepping fully into the hallway and shutting the door behind him. “Yes?” He asked.

It was just the two of them now. Dream licked his lips, “Look, um, George, right?” He nodded. “I’m Clay. I live downstairs-”

“I remember you.”

Dream blinked. “Oh. Right.” They looked at each other in silence for a while. “Um, sorry. I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but is there anything going on? I know we don’t know each other but, I mean, I hear a lot of stuff and-”

“It’s okay.” George interrupted him.

“W-what?”

He smiled, “It’s okay.”

Dream blinked. “O-oh. Well, if you ever want to talk to someone, you can. Talk to me, I mean. I. Yeah.” He smiled shyly, rubbing his neck. 

George nodded, “I appreciate that.”

“Okay, great.” Dream turned to leave for a second before looking back at George. “Goodnight, then.”

George replied with a quiet, “Goodnight,” before opening his door and going back inside.

___

Dream muttered curse word after curse word as he walked up and down the block his complex sat on. He scanned the planter pots and under parked cars hurriedly. 

See, he was in a rush this morning and forgot to close the bathroom window after his shower. The window that just happened to be attached to the fire escape and ultimately didn’t have a protective screen over it. 

So, Patches had gotten out. 

He was unsure how long she’s been outside, since he left around ten in the morning and it was now close to five. Dream stopped at the front door of the building and groaned in frustration. He had texted Sapnap twenty minutes ago, asking if he could come over to help him look, but the boy was working. The sun was starting to set, seeing as it’s almost winter and days were shorter now. He ran his hands through his hair, gripping it at the base of his neck.

“You okay there?” Dream jumped and spun around, coming face to face with George of 206. “You’re kind of blocking the door.”

“Sorry, sorry,” He hurriedly stepped to the side. George nodded and pulled out his set of keys, unlocking the front of the building. “Um, George?”

George looked at Dream, “Yeah?”

Dream bit his lip. “Are you busy?” George held up the bag of groceries held in his right hand. “O-oh. Okay, um, nevermind. Sorry.”

“Something the matter?” George stepped away from the door.

“I,” Dream frowned. “My cat got out and I jus-” A lump formed in his throat, cutting him off.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” George stepped closer to Dream. “Um, let me take these up and I’ll come back down and help you look, okay?” Dream nodded and blinked away the few tears of frustration that filled his eyes. George smiled reassuringly and entered the complex. A few minutes later, while Dream was looking intensely at a rose bush, did George come back out, holding a flashlight. He walked up to Dream. “How’d your cat get out?”

Dream explained what happened as the two walked around the building. “I’m such a horrible cat dad,” he added. 

“I’m sure you’re not.” George looked behind the dumpster in the alleyway next to the fire escape. “These things happen. She wouldn’t’ve gotten far.” Dream sniffled as they rounded the backside of the building. 

“It’s been hours, though.”

George hummed in thought. “Have you tried the park a few streets down? It’s pretty open but has lots of bushes they could be hiding in.”

“No. I, uh, I’m still not familiar with this side of the city.” Dream followed the other man as he started to walk down the back street. 

“How long have you lived here?”

“I go to the university across town, I just recently fully moved a few months ago.” Dream quickened his strides to walk directly next to George. He was many inches shorter than him, he mentally noted. “What about you? You clearly aren’t American.”

George barked out a laugh. “Yeah, no. I’m from the UK. I moved here just over a year ago.”

Dream nodded. They stopped at a crosswalk and watched traffic pass by. “Why’d you come here? School?”

George shook his head. “Moved in with Audrey.”

“‘S she your girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” he hesitated slightly. “I’ve known her for six years and we’ve been dating for half of that. Thought it was fitting to finally live together, y’know?” Dream made a noise of agreement and the two finally reached the park. They stayed on the path, listening for any sign of movement from the lining shrubbery. George broke the silence, “I think she’s expecting me to propose sometime soon.”

Dream’s step faltered slightly. “You gonna?” The shorter man shrugged. They came to a stop under a lamppost. “Do,” Dream blinked and looked away from George briefly. “Do you love her?”

A text tone came from George’s pocket. His breath hitched. He didn’t pull it out. “I did,” he whispered, turning and continuing to walk down the park pavement. The conversation ended. 

They eventually found Patches hiding up in a tree by the children’s playground. After many minutes of coaxing and haphazardous climbing done by Dream, the scared cat was safely zipped up in his sweat jacket and the duo made their way back home. The silence during the walk wasn’t awkward, but it also was not comfortable, just somewhere in between. 

Dream said a final thank you as he exited the stairwell to the first floor. George gave a small wave and continued on up the steps. 

___

“You still have your notes from this class right?” Sapnap asked, leaning back in the café booth across from Dream, who was staring off. “Dream?” A hum came from his friend. “You still have your old notes right?”

_ Mhm.  _

“Can I have them?”

_ Mhm.  _

Sapnap casted an annoyed look at the older boy. “I was thinking of piercing my dick, what do you think?”

A mumbled, “sounds good”, came from the other and Sapnap puffed out his cheeks. 

“ _ Dude,”  _ he sigh exasperatedly, reaching over the table and shoving Dream’s face to the side. “What’s up with you today? Finals are in two weeks and you’ve barely looked at your laptop since we’ve been here.”

Dream snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face Sapnap. “What?” 

The younger boy groaned, putting his face in his hands. “Bro, what’s on your mind?” He scrubbed his face for a second before determinedly looking at the blond boy in front of him. 

Dream returned his gaze to the outside world. “I think she’s abusing him,” he whispered. 

Sapnap blinked in confusion. “Who?”

“George, the guy that lives above me.” Dream turned back to his friend. “I think his girlfriend is abusing him.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Dream trailed off. He glanced down at his asleep laptop, mindlessly tapping it to wake it up. The two stayed silent for a few minutes as they got back into the groove of studying. 

Sapnap cleared his throat, “Have you asked him about it?”

The blond paused his typing. “Not directly,” he looked up. “But I think it’s fair to assume.” Sapnap just nodded, twirling the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. The two spent the next hour passing short remarks about school back and forth. 

___

A knock sounded from the front door. Dream paused his video game and went to answer it. George stood outside, holding himself, eyes downcast. 

“George?” The man sniffled, bringing a hand up and wiping his face quickly. 

“Can- can I come in?” His voice broke half way through the question. 

“Yeah, of course, yeah.” Dream rushed out. He pulled the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside. George walked in and slowly stepped out of his sneakers. Dream gently closed the door before leading him into the living room. “You okay?” That probably wasn’t the best question to ask, as George choked on a sob, curling further into himself. Dream’s eyes widened and he went to raise his arms to comfort the boy, but stopped half way. 

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so-rry. Sorry, sorry.” George continued to apologize as he sank to the floor, littered with sobs. 

Dream kneeled in front of him, fist curled on the floor. “What happened?” George shook his head. “George, what happened?” He persisted. George brought his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. Dream sat on his heels, heart aching to comfort the man in front of him but unsure if it was even wanted. 

“I can’t- I can’t do it anymore,” a harsh cry ripped through George’s voice. “I can’t. I can’t.” 

“Okay, okay,” Dream spoke softly. He inches closer to George, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. George surged forward, gripping him in a hug. Patches mewed quietly from the windowsill she was seated on. She padded towards the humans, rubbing her body against George’s. 

“Please, help me, Clay.” George took a deep breath, trying to calm his tears. Dream nodded, rubbing circles into his back. 

Once he was calmed down, Dream brought George over to the couch and the two of them called their landlord together. Dream rubbed soothing circles in George’s hand as he explained the situation in his apartment. The landlord explained what steps of action were needed to be taken and George nodded intently, using his sleeve to dry the tear tracks on his face. 

Twenty minutes later, Dream sat on George’s couch as a police officer asked him questions for an official report. He averted his eyes when George lifted his sweater to show the officer bruises on his abdomen. An APB was put in place for Audrey. The interviewing officer asked George if he had anywhere to stay tonight, in case she came back and the officers didn’t notice. “If you don’t, we could put you in a hotel room for the night. Whatever makes you more comfortable,” the officer smiled reassuringly.

George looked at Dream. The policeman interjected before he could ask his question. “It’d be best if it wasn’t in the building. A place or friend she doesn’t know of, just in case.”

“O-oh, right.” George’s knee started to shake anxiously. “I guess a hotel works.”

“Okay, I’ll go talk to my partner. How about you pack a bag and then we’ll escort you, okay?” George nodded and the two young men watched the officer leave the room.

George stood from the couch without saying anything, heading towards the bedroom. Dream watched him leave until the door closed, blocking his view. The apartment had an ominous feel to it. Due to the fact that the speculation Dream has been thinking of for weeks now, is actually true. And that he was just a floor down, doing nothing that whole time. A guilty bystander. He stood from the couch and made his way around the room. There was little to no personal decorations in the room, at least none that seemed to belong to George.

On the bookshelf by the tv were photos, but they were all of Audrey and her friends and family. The novels and media littered on the shelves didn’t look like anything George would be into. Dream frowned and made his way down the hall to the bedroom. He knocked lightly before letting himself in. George had a backpack open on the bed. He meticulously folded articles of clothing.

“I know you probably aren’t, but I figured I’d ask anyways,” Dream sidled up next to him. He bent slightly, searching George’s eyes. “You okay?” George nodded stiffly, shoving a shirt into the bag. He chewed on the inside of his lip, seemingly lost in thought. Dream sighed and stepped away from the shorter man. “Okay, if you need me I’ll be in the hallway.” Dream awkwardly jabbed his thumb behind him, even though George still hasn’t looked towards him. 

Dream backed into the hallway. A minute or so later, George emerged from the room with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He fiddled with a booklet in his hands, turning it over again and again. George’s brown eyes met Dream’s and he smiled shakily. 

Dream opened his mouth to say something but the interviewing officer from before entered the hallway and offered a comforting smile to the two. “Ready to go?” He directed at George. The man nodded slowly and stepped forward to head to the front door. The policeman’s hand hovered behind his lower back for a sense of stability and comfort. 

Dream watched them walk away for a second before following. He paused in the stairwell. George, the police officers, and their landlord took the lobby steps. Dream went to the second floor. 

___

Muffled words crackled through the loud speaker of the airport. People passed by in a hurry to get to their gates on time for take off. Sitting in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs was Dream, who scrolled idly through his phone, waiting. Sapnap sat next to him, looking over his shoulder and making small comments about what content popped up on the latter’s device. 

Dream heaved a deep sigh and locked his phone, growing bored of looking at outdated memes. The younger boy huffed and looked around at the passing crowd. “I don’t get why I’m here,” he said. 

“You’re the one that wanted to hang out today,” Dream’s eyes scanned the area fleetingly. Across the way a toddler wailed to his mother. 

“Spending it at the airport wasn't exactly what I had intended.” Sapnap grumbled. He picked at the rips of his jeans. 

“I know, we’ll leave in a bit, promise.”

“You said that twenty minutes ago, dude.”

Dream rolled his eyes. He checked his phone for any new notifications. Nothing. 

“Can’t you just admit that he bailed on you? Or that you already missed him? I’m bored. And hungry.” Sapnap slumped further in his chair, head lollying to the side to look at Dream. 

It’s been two weeks since Audrey’s arrest and one week since her trail. She lost, of course, with the substantial evidence and statements from the neighbors and George himself. And now, said man was supposed to be heading to the airport to catch a plane back to England. Unless he did text Dream the wrong time and he had already taken off. But Dream didn’t want to believe that. He hoped to catch him before he left. 

Sapnap whined again, sinking impossibly lower, “Dreeeaam,” he dragged out. 

_ 2:23pm.  _ George’s flight was supposedly at 2:30. Dream locked his phone again and raked a hand through his hair. “Okay, okay,” he stood and looked around one last time before settling his eyes on Sapnap. “Come on then.” 

The brunet jumped up and sighed in relief, cracking a few bones for added measure. “Look, sorry man,” he placed a hand on Dream’s shoulder. “I know you wanted to send him off, or whatever.”

“It’s fine,” Dream shook his head dismissively. The two started to walk towards the exit. They were about five yards from the doors when an accented voice called out for Dream’s name. The blond turned around and smiled. 

George walked up to them and smiled back. He definitely looked more lively now than any other time Dream saw him. He was glad. 

“Hi,” George smiled up at him. 

“Hey.”

Sapnap looked between the two. “Cool, I’m gonna head outside, Dream. Have a good flight, George.” His words seemed to go unnoticed as Sapnap walked away. 

“You’re not gonna miss your flight, are you?”

George shook his head, “There’s a small delay. Boarding won’t be for another few minutes.”

“Great, awesome.” Dream scratched the back of his neck, eyes downcast. 

“I, um, I just wanted to say thanks. For everything. I know you probably think you didn’t do much, but you did, Clay. So, thank you.”

“Yeah, of course. I probably would’ve done it for anyone. I mean, not like,  _ anyone,  _ anyone. But, uh, yeah. No problem.” George laughed lightly. The intercom crackled again as they just looked at each other. 

_ “-flight 3510 to London, now boarding. Repeat flight 3510 to London, now boarding” _

George sighed, “That’s me.” He hiked his carryon back higher on his shoulder. 

“Right, yeah.” Dream clenched and unclenched his fist awkwardly. 

“You can walk me to the gate, if you want. Or just as far as you can go.” He nodded and started to follow George down the corridor. A comfortable silence fell between them as the two walked side by side. 

Far too quickly for his liking, Dream saw the flight gate up ahead and he stopped as George fell into the line. He cleared his throat before speaking. “If you’re ever in the states again, which I kind of doubt, but I mean, if you are… let me know.”

George looked up at him and smiled, “I will.”

Dream nodded quickly, “good, cool.” More passengers filed into the line and he took a step back. He smiled at George and offered a wave. George returned it, a slight frown forming on his face. “Bye, take care.”

Dream turned around and went to walk away before arms circled around him from behind. He grabbed the arms around his waist, turning his head to look at the top of George’s, whose face was pressed into his shoulder blade. He loosened the grip and turned to hug the shorter man properly, pressing his own face into his hair. 

“Thank you,” George whispered again. Dream merely squeezed him tighter. 

“You gotta go.”

“I know.” 

The two broke apart and stepped away from each other. George coughed into his fist and rejoined the queue for boarding. 

“I’m serious about the whole being back here thing. I don’t want you to be a stranger.” Dream called after him. George passed his boarding pass to the flight attendant and looked back at the blond. He shook his head in amusement, winked, and stepped into the tunnel. 

Dream stood watching him until he had rounded the corner. With a final whispered goodbye, he turned and left the airport. 

**Author's Note:**

> :p
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/_Blloom__)


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